State Sen. Jason Schultz’s (R-Schleswig) latest legislative update centered on an agreement reached last week on Iowa’s K-12 education funding for the upcoming fiscal year. The compromise includes a two-percent increase in Supplemental State Aid (SSA), plus additional support for teacher salaries, rural transportation, and per-pupil equity. The deal, reached after weeks of negotiations between the House, Senate, and governor’s office, boosts K-12 funding by more than $240 million. Schultz says, “This means K-12 students will receive over $6 billion if you count all state and local funding. The official state aid for next year will be $7,988 per student. Public schools will get $3.9 billion, education savings accounts will get $315 million, and charter schools will receive $19.7 million. All these numbers are only the General Fund spending. Rural schools will also have an additional $1 million in operational sharing. An additional $1.6 million will be added to current spending that helps rural schools with high transportation costs.” Schultz defended the increase amid criticism it may fall short of needs, noting that K-12 now accounts for more than 43 percent of Iowa’s General Fund budget, up from 38.2 percent in 2009. With education funding settled and committee work wrapping up, Schultz said lawmakers are now focused on finalizing the state budget, with hopes of concluding the session by early May.
